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Adjective Order
Writers Workshop Daily Plan
1. Mini-Lesson Focus: Procedural Process Trait Conventions
ELACC4L1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
d. Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag
At the beginning of this lesson, discuss the role of adjectives and how good writers use them. Tell them that they probably didn’t even realize it, but there is a conventional order that writers use when they use more than one adjective in a sentence. Show them the chart on page 2. Play around with a few sentences, mixing up the order of the adjectives and allowing them to see that they can usually hear what sounds right.
Play a quick game: Divide your students into two teams. Give them index cards and tape. Give them a simple noun that they have to describe. Use the word book, for example. Taking turns, a member from each team comes up to the board and places a card with an adjective on it in front of the noun. Using correct order, continue adding on adjectives until one of the teams can’t figure out another adjective or makes a mistake in placement.
Give students a copy of page 2 to put in their writing folders. During Writing Workshop, guide students to carefully choose their words.
Note: Help your students realize that good writers very rarely would use more than two adjectives in a sentence to describe a noun. Good writers instead make every effort to use precise nouns and active verbs to paint that picture in the reader’s head.
2. Status of Class
3. Student Writing/Teacher Conferring
4. Author Share: Student Teacher
Adjective Order
When more than one adjective is used to describe something, all the adjectives need to be placed in the correct order.
This is the correct order for adjective placement.
NUMBER (five, several) OPINION (lovely, useless) SIZE (big, tiny)
AGE (mature, ancient) SHAPE (square, oval) COLOR (red, burgandy) ORIGIN (American, English) MATERIAL (wooden, cotton) PURPOSE (typing, sun)
Troup County Schools 2012
Poster on page 2 from http://www.free-teacher-worksheets.com/adjective-order.html